Parole board probe warranted
Review casts doubts about conduct, undermines confidence in its authority
Every new revelation about a state watchdog’s report into the Virginia Parole Board’s release of several convicted murderers last year raises more questions about that board’s actions and the subsequent review of those decisions.
Together, they make clear that a thorough investigation into the matter is warranted, with the findings available for public review. Anything less risks an erosion of confidence in the parole board, whose work would be served by greater transparency.
At issue, primarily, is the board’s grant of parole to Vincent Martin, who was convicted in a 1979 murder of a Richmond police officer. The controversial and high-profile decision led to a review by the Office of the State Inspector General.
The OSIG found a number of missteps in the board’s process, concluding that the commonwealth’s attorney in Richmond and members of the victim’s family were not properly notified. The report also found the board did not keep minutes as required by law under the direction of then-Chair Adrianne Bennett.
That prompted calls for greater oversight and accountability for the parole board, a justified response. Legislation that would have made each board member’s vote part of the public record won bipartisan support in the Senate only to die in the House of Delegates.
As the session was winding down, a new revelation emerged. The OSIG report — which was so heavily redacted as to render it virtually worthless upon initial release — was, in an early draft, far more critical of the parole board.
The 13-page draft document, obtained by Richmond television station WTVR, includes “allegations that the former chair (Bennett) asked at least two employees to falsify a report and violate their own ethics,” per the station’s reporting. Bennett is now a judge in Virginia Beach.
The Associated Press reported the OSIG draft report also contends, “Parole Board Chair Tonya Chapman was initially ‘reluctant’ to provide board meeting minutes to the IG’s office and that when she later did ‘it was clear that information regarding Martin had been deleted and was not the complete document’ other board members had received.” Chapman served as chief of police in Portsmouth until 2019.
There also were questions raised about whether the parole board had erred in its handling of other petitions for release — whether this was chronic behavior or missteps confined to one case.
If true, the allegations in the Martin case also would represent serious violations of state law. They cast doubt about the conduct of the parole board and undermine confidence in those accused of wrongdoing.
However, it’s impossible to separate fact from fiction — or political gamesmanship — at this point.
When WTVR first revealed the existence of the report, some Democratic lawmakers appeared more interested in who leaked the report than the allegations it contained, forgetting that whistleblowers deserve protection from retribution.
Meanwhile, some Republicans, who have hammered on the parole board for months, accuse Northam and his administration of a cover up without clear evidence to substantiate those allegations.
The parole board, upon release of the initial OSIG report, issued a point-bypoint rebuttal of the charges. And Gov. Ralph Northam’s Chief of Staff, Clark Mercer, on Tuesday offered a spirited defense of the administration’s handling of the matter.
Remove the political overtones — impossible, we know, but try — and it’s easy to see enough smoke to think that a fire is burning somewhere. And that should compel a thorough and, if possible, independent investigation into the whole affair.
The governor insists he supports such an inquiry, saying that the public needs answers and the accused board members should have an opportunity to defend themselves.
But an attempt by Sens. Bryce
Reeves, R-Spotsylvania, and John Bell, D-Loudoun, to establish a select committee to investigate failed late last month. The attorney general and Virginia State Police may be alternatives.
That must be decided soon and an investigation launched promptly. The public deserves to know what happened, and a full investigation is the best way to ensure that.
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